IPL: Kane Williamson replaces David Warner as captain of SRH
New Zealand's Kane Williamson is set to take over as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad for the rest of the 2021 Indian Premier League season. The Kiwi batsman has replaced David Warner, who has been the mainstay captain for the Orange Army. The announcement comes after the SRH endured a string of defeats under Warner this season. Here is more on the same.
'Kane Williamson will be taking over as captain'
"Sunrisers Hyderabad would like to announce that Kane Williamson will taking over the captaincy for tomorrow's match and for the remainder of IPL 2021," read a statement from SRH ahead of their match against Rajasthan Royals.
SRH made the announcement on Twitter
SRH have lost five out of six games this season
Sunrisers Hyderabad presently occupy the eighth spot in the standings, having won one and lost five games. They have failed to perform as a unit, and are largely dependant on Warner and Jonny Bairstow in terms of batting. Notably, Warner led the Orange Army to their maiden IPL title in 2016. He will be replaced by Williamson, who has led SRH in the past.
Warner has been under the scanner this season
In 2020, SRH managed to claim the playoffs berth under Warner before losing in Qualifier 2. However, they haven't had much success this time. Even Warner's own form has plunged in the ongoing season. Although he has scored runs momentarily, his strike rate in the powerplay (2021) reads as 110.71. After SRH's latest defeat to CSK, Warner was willing to take "full responsibility".
Williamson has proved his mettle in the past
Williamson, who was signed by the SRH in 2015, took over the reigns from Warner in 2018 after the latter missed out due to a ball-tampering ban. In Williamson's leadership, SRH advanced to the final, wherein they lost to eventually champions CSK. He top-scored in that edition, having amassed 735 runs at 52.50. Williamson also led the team in the 2019 season.
